For the first time, Nigeria has been excluded from countries with trapped funds as the International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that $1.7 billion in airline funds are blocked from repatriation by governments as of the end of October 2024.
BusinessDay reports that this is a small improvement compared to the $1.8 billion reported at the end of April. “Over the last six months, we have seen significant reductions in blocked funds in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Algeria and Ethiopia. At the same time, amounts are rising in the XAF /XOF zones and Mozambique.
“Bolivia has also emerged as a problem, where repatriating sales revenues is becoming increasingly difficult and unsustainable for airlines. This unfortunate game of ‘whack-a-mole’ is unacceptable. Governments must remove all barriers for airlines to repatriate their revenues from ticket sales and other activities by international agreements and treaty obligations,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General.
“No country wants to lose aviation connectivity, which drives economic prosperity. But if airlines cannot repatriate their revenues, they cannot be expected to provide a service. Economies will suffer if connectivity collapses. So, it is in everyone’s interest, including governments, to ensure that airlines can repatriate their funds smoothly,” said Walsh.
Nine countries account for 83 per cent of the airline industry’s blocked funds, amounting to $1.43 billion.
They include Pakistan, XAF Zone, Bangladesh, Algeria, Lebanon Mozambique, Angola, Eritrea and XOF Zone.
Recall that in June IATA confirmed that the Central Bank of Nigeria cleared foreign airlines trapped funds worth $831m from June last year to date. The Geneva, Switzerland-based IATA said the development had brought international airlines’ trapped funds globally to about $1.8 billion.
